Time, then, for the Government to seek a boost by telling small and medium-sized businesses that haven't ventured abroad to seriously consider doing so. And for once there is some money behind a government-led exports drive, thanks to Chancellor George Osborne's pledge to provide £45m over three years.

There's little doubt that SMEs need a push in the right direction. "The UK has 3.4pc of the imports of Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation countries but only 1.2pc of the imports of UKTI's 19 designated growth markets," says Nick Baird, a former UK ambassador to Turkey who became UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) chief executive last September

"If we can close that gap, that would wipe out the trade deficit and turn the UK into a trade-surplus economy again and there's no reason why that shouldn't happen.

"As those growth economies advance, their middle classes increase in size and their pattern of consumption changes more towards that of a developed country, we should have the same share of exports as we have in developed markets."

The figures are persuasive. UKTI, which defines a mid-sized company as turning over £25m to £500m, reckons there are 8,962 such UK companies, of which only 3,500 to 3,600 export.

Ireland famously accounts for more British exports than Brazil, Russia, India and China combined, while Germany and France are both ahead of Britain in exporting to the BRICs.

The challenge, set by the Confederation of British Industry and taken up by Prime Minister David Cameron, is to get another 100,000 British companies exporting by 2020, taking the proportion that export from 20pc to 25pc – the European average.

Why do British SMEs fare so poorly in exporting? Mr Baird cites access to finance, a need for UK processes to be "de-risked more effectively for SMEs" and a deficit in management time, expertise and confidence.

"The strength of the domestic economy over the last 20 years has meant too many of our companies have become reliant on debt-fuelled domestic demand and UK public sector procurement," he says. "They have delivered enough in terms of growth for them to be happy but that's not going to be the case anymore."

UKTI has identified a management capability challenge for mid-sized firms as they make the transition to larger companies with corporate structures and more diverse boards.

"That's got big implications in terms of exports," says Mr Baird. "If they're not opening up their boards and management teams to expertise from outside, it's no surprise they're not intensifying export capability or maximising all the opportunities."

Inspired by the export successes of Triumph Motorcycles and CPL Aromas – a Bishops Stortford-based fragrances house that impressed him on a trade visit to Colombia – Mr Baird says the government funding will finance 50 new international trade advisers and double the number of companies it helps each year from 25,000 to 50,000.

The advisers will contact all 8,962 mid-sized companies to ask what help they need to start or increase overseas sales. Then, UKTI will focus on the 500 UK companies each year it believes have the greatest potential to grow globally, staging intensive programmes to develop export strategies.

"We'll start by working to identify which markets they ought to focus on and get some really strong research working with our teams in the embassies over demand for their products in those countries," says Mr Baird.

"We'll work with them on what the right business model would be in those countries, whether they need a distributor or joint-venture partner and what regulatory and legal issues there will be. Then it's about introducing them to relevant customers, distributors and joint-venture partners and promoting their products."

One complexity is that 40pc of mid-sized companies based in the UK are foreign-owned so UKTI plans to strengthen its teams in British embassies in growth markets to liaise with head office management.

UKTI's priorities are Brazil, India, China and Turkey, the latter being deemed more easily accessible than Russia. However, it is also targeting other parts of south-east Asia and Latin America. In Mexico and Colombia, for example, Mr Baird says UK mid-sized companies are "not nearly as active as they need to be".

"The demand for British products is very high," Mr Baird says. "The issue is a failure to supply that demand. It's not that British companies are uncompetitive. It's about not being ambitious enough."